Applied Betadine For Injured Legs And Knee. Got Red Patches. What To Do?

Posted on Thu, 20 Jun 2013

Question: few days back i met with accident my right leg was injured and got some injury below knee(sracthes) for which i applied betadine but after 1 week red colour patches start appearing.

please suggest me what to do.

Answered by Dr. Grzegorz Stanko (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thank you for the query.

Can you please wash away the Betadine and than make a photo of it?
What do you apply Betadine for? This is a very strong antiseptic agent used to prepare the skin before the surgery. It should not be used for wound treatment.
Betadine contains iodine and alcohol. Both can irritate the skin or even burn it. Allergic reaction is also possible.

The patches you have noticed are most likely caused by Betadine using, as a side effect of it.
I suggest you to stop using it, wash it away and leave your scratches alone. It will heal quicker without any medicine. If the skin wont improve in a few days, dermatologist consult is necessary.

Hope this will help. Feel free to ask further questions.

Regards,

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T